My Experience Preparing for the Class A Air Pollution Control Specialist Course and Exam

Why I Finally Took the Exam

As usual, before writing this article I have to show the relevant proof first.

This was the certificate that arrived only a few weeks before I published this article. It was also the first certificate I received after the Ministry of Environment was inaugurated, which made it feel a little novel XD.

Here are my scores for each examination as well.

By the end of the preparation period I was honestly running out of energy. During the one or two weeks before the exam, a colleague at work took leave, so nearly all the work landed on me. I was busy every day to the point that I could barely leave work on time, which made preparing fairly hard.

So these scores are not especially impressive; you could say I only just passed. Still, I scored highest in regulations, so at least my law-and-public-health double skill set was not completely wasted XDDD.

You may ask why a SAS programmer at a CRO company would want the Class A Air Pollution Control Specialist certificate. What does it have to do with clinical trials or SAS? The answer is: almost nothing.

Before entering the clinical-trial field, however, I was very much an environmental and occupational health person. My master’s thesis also focused on air, so I had wanted this Class A air-pollution-control certificate for a very long time.

There had never been an intensive Class A course before—only weekend classes. While I was still working at a cram school, weekends were completely unavailable for classes and exams, so this plan kept being delayed.

Joining a CRO was itself a twist of fate and quite different from my original life plan. If you are curious, you can read my other article about the rather fantastical journey of interviewing for, and receiving, an IQVIA SAS programmer offer.

A Fantastical Journey: My IQVIA SAS Programmer Interview and Offer Experience

After obtaining the Indoor Air Quality Specialist certificate, and after leaving the cram school in the second half of 2023, I finally had the energy to go after this one. ITRI happened to be offering a Taipei course at National Taipei University of Education near Technology Building station, so with the timing, place, and circumstances all lining up, I signed up.

A Quick Overview of the Certification Process

The Class A air-pollution process was broadly similar to the Indoor Air Quality Specialist certificate: take the course, study, and then sit the examinations.

There is necessarily a training stage first. If you do not pass everything in one attempt, that is not the end of the world: failed subjects can be retaken separately. I will leave the exam techniques and cautions for later sections.

The pre-course briefing explained details such as the number and timing of retakes and how to apply, so future participants need not panic about that part. For registration methods and other general procedures, see my Indoor Air Quality Specialist article; the process was similar enough that I will not repeat it at length here.

My Experience with the Indoor Air Quality Specialist Course and Exam

After Registration: Classes, the Practical Visit, and the Field Test

Contact and administrative questions

I have to mention Ms. Li, the extremely conscientious ITRI coordinator for this cohort. The class and examination administration ran so smoothly because the administrative staff were genuinely responsible.

When I checked the coordinator from my previous indoor-air-quality course, it turned out to be the very same person XD. The world really is small.

After paying and mailing the registration material, we received email and text-message notices from the organizer, plus a QR code for a LINE group for people in the same cohort. That group became an important channel for leave requests, information exchange, and contact.

Our group was lively. Whether someone needed to find another participant or had a question about class or the exam, they could ask there and receive timely replies from classmates or the organizer.

What ordinary class days were like

The weekend Class A course ran all day Saturday and Sunday. The content was rich and plentiful, so it took roughly a full month. In other words, every weekend for a month was occupied by full-day classes; if you have plans, watch the absence limit that could lead to removal from the course.

Although the days were all Saturdays and Sundays, the start and finish times varied slightly, so use the schedule for your cohort as your guide.

There were two kinds of sessions: ordinary classroom days spent listening all day, and visits or practical sessions at other sites. I will discuss the latter later; first, the classroom experience.

On the first day we received all the material for the month. I strongly recommend not carrying too much when you arrive, or you definitely will not be able to carry it home.

Unlike the Indoor Air Quality Specialist course, Class A air-pollution training officially had seven written papers after excluding the practical work and visit score, but each paper covered multiple sets of materials. In total there were more than fifteen subjects’ worth of content, so the stack of books was not surprising.

Because I am used to electronic notes, getting so many physical books was slightly troublesome. There was a good chance that after the exam and note-taking I would throw them away, which did not feel very environmentally friendly Orz.

The handouts included textbook-like prose and, later, the slides used in class. There was no need to ask instructors for slides separately: just concentrate on the lecture. Do note, however, that instructors sometimes corrected or supplemented their slides, so the contents could differ slightly; compare them and take photos during class.

Teaching styles differed greatly, but the pace was generally not too fast and was easy to absorb. I was doing weekend start-up work while listening and could still keep up without too much difficulty.

That said, this is an air-related course. Some natural-science background—or even fluid mechanics or thermodynamics—would probably make it easier. I found the Class A content quite demanding; without foundational knowledge for understanding, you may have to rely on memorization.

Each morning or afternoon block averaged one or two classes. Teachers usually took a ten-minute break after a little over an hour. Given the duration and the breaks, it was very intense and concentrated.

I had not attended something that intense for a long time. I slept through almost every short break… Working weekdays and then spending whole weekends in class was a bit of torture XDDDD.

The lunch break was about an hour. Because the venue was National Taipei University of Education, there were plenty of places to eat and drink nearby.

If you were too lazy to go out, the organizer could also order boxed lunches. Register with the teaching assistant before class and you could have lunch at noon without walking into the sun. I saw it a few times and thought the side dishes looked good; I recommend ITRI’s taste in food too (what?).

Off-site visit and practical course

These certificate exams seem to include a practical test. The Indoor Air Quality Specialist test had monitoring-site planning and instrument operation; Class A air pollution was more elaborate, with both a practical test and a site visit.

For this cohort the off-site training was on a Wednesday and took the entire day at designated locations. That date would normally not move much, so arrange leave with your company before the course if needed.

When I asked my company LM for leave, I said directly that I was taking a certificate course completely unrelated to the company. He was actually very happy that I was still trying different kinds of work and continuing to learn, and approved it very easily XDDD.

That morning we visited the Nanliao Incineration Plant, then went to the Southern Training Center for the practical course and examination in the afternoon. The whole day honestly felt like an outing XD.

Participants could travel independently or take ITRI’s coach. With no car, I naturally took the coach. We met shortly after 7:30 a.m. at the Cosmos Hotel near Taipei Main Station. For a moment I wondered whether I was taking a bus to Taichung or Tainan for a trip.

There were fewer people on the coach than I expected, so almost every row could be used alone. I had never sat in the very front before, so I chose a front-row seat with an excellent view.

The morning visit was exactly like a school excursion: plant staff led us around and showed us things previously seen only in textbooks. During the explanation, I sometimes wondered whether they thought we were a waste-management certification class rather than an air-pollution class XD. The content felt very waste-oriented, although the two fields do overlap appropriately.

When we visited the control room, its screens were surrounded by stacks of green Kuai Kuai snacks. I immediately sent a screenshot to my podcast partner, because the “Kuai Kuai cursed spirit” from our first podcast episode had appeared here too XD.

So, inevitably, another small plug for our podcast: Nengmo Podcast on Spotify; and Nengmo Podcast on Apple Podcasts.

There was a short exam during the visit, but it was nothing to worry about. It was very simple, the staff pointed out the relevant material during the tour, and the answers could all be found in the handout. It was open book, so there was probably no way to fail.

Afterward everyone took the coach to the Southern Training Center for the actual practical session. Looking at the schedule, I already doubted we would arrive on time. We then hit a serious traffic jam and arrived even later than expected, though there was just enough time for lunch before the afternoon class and test.

ITRI ordered boxed lunches. The timing was so tight that there was absolutely no time to go out, and there was not much food nearby either.

The afternoon class was visual smoke observation. The instructor first covered the relevant theory, then we went outside for the examination. In simple terms, visual smoke observation estimates emission concentration approximately from the condition of the smoke.

The examiner released smoke at particular concentrations first so that we could see what different concentrations looked like. In the formal test, candidates viewed smoke with an unknown concentration and estimated its proportion for each question.

There were white-smoke and black-smoke versions, and the exam used only one of them.

Honestly, whether it was white or black smoke, it was incredibly hard without a small hint from the examiner XDDDD. Everyone stood outside without partitions and watched the same smoke, but almost nobody was certain of an answer. I guessed blindly on many questions too.

Before the test, each person received a clipboard with a visual-smoke answer sheet: red for black smoke and yellow for white smoke. There were twenty-five questions. The farther your estimated concentration was from the correct answer, the more points you lost; exceed a certain deduction and you failed.

While taking it I kept thinking, “Oh no, is this where my Class A certificate ends?” Fortunately, I guessed enough answers correctly and passed. I was relatively good at black smoke, but white smoke was disastrous…

Exam Subjects and the Day of the Tests

Besides the practical work, Class A air pollution also required written exams on background knowledge. This section explains the process I experienced, along with preparation methods and tips that worked for me.

Subjects and exam schedule

Here is the schedule and the subjects for our cohort.

Excluding the practical examination, there were seven written papers, each covering several subjects. Emissions reporting and system-control work also included fill-in-the-blank questions, while emissions reporting included calculations.

Fill-in and calculation questions may look frightening, but I eventually felt they were the real scoring opportunity. Multiple choice is all-or-nothing, while fill-ins and calculations allow a little room for partial credit.

The subjects were not completely separate. They overlapped heavily, so although there appeared to be many books, some content repeated and the workload was not quite as shocking as it first seemed.

How I recommend preparing

First, this is a method that worked well for me personally. It may not fit everyone, so adjust it to your own situation.

Preparing in an Order Makes It Easier

Because the subjects connect with each other but the class order may shift when teachers reschedule, I would suggest this sequence.

Start with all the subjects covered by air-pollution-control background knowledge. That gives you a rough map of the certificate and the role of the specialist.

Second, study the two pollutant-control-technology subjects—particulate and gaseous pollutant control. They are the foundation for most of what follows: the general theory that makes the later specific topics much easier.

Third, read the introduction to collection and exhaust techniques, another basic theoretical area. Fourth, study sampling methods, including boundary and stack sampling. Those are relatively independent but draw heavily on instrument-analysis background; understanding later control methods can still help a little.

After that, study in whatever order works for you. I went on to reporting and air-pollution fees, emergency response, and finally the more specialized fugitive-source and hazardous-air-pollutant topics.

Read the Textbooks

Slides and lectures helped me understand, but the testable material was in the prose at the front of the books, and it rarely went beyond it. Lecturers’ highlighted points were valuable and often accurate—although some subjects practically highlighted the entire book.

Practical case applications were largely not tested. Whether or not a section was marked as untested, you could generally skip it while preparing. The printed practice book was only a shorter rearrangement of the textbook, and many actual questions still went beyond it, so I found its value limited.

After all that, my strongest recommendation is still: read the textbooks thoroughly. There is no shortcut.

During breaks I saw people buying what looked like whole question-bank books on Shopee. I do not know whether they helped; I personally only read the books and organized notes, so decide for yourself whether buying one is useful.

Read a Past Paper If You Receive One

I will not reveal it here, but one particular paper was very important. If the organizer provides it, make sure you read it. If not… I organized its contents in my notes, so people without it can use the notes shared later.

Do Not Obsess over Very Difficult Material

Extremely complicated formulas or overly theoretical material were, in my experience, not tested. For example, experimental emission-estimation equations look impossible for a human being to memorize; they were not tested. Background principles of continuous automatic monitoring instruments are similarly heavy in natural-science theory: recognize them, but do not overfocus.

Memorize the Numbers

This was the most annoying part for me. I understand why multiple-choice questions need unambiguous answers, but Class A air pollution loves testing details that you could obtain just by buying an instrument and reading its manual—ranges of flow speed or suitable concentration, for example.

That is not to say the information is unimportant. I simply think relationships could sometimes be tested more meaningfully than pure numbers Orz. That style of question feels blunt, and there is nothing to do but memorize.

Make Your Own Notes

You might ask why, when there are already books. Beyond the old argument that writing notes helps understanding, this exam tests many scattered details that cannot always be deduced through comprehension.

Those details are numerous and messy. Between papers, you need to pull the likely testable fragments for the next subject back into your head. The breaks are short; searching a textbook then would be impractical and you might not find what you need. That is why these notes mattered so much.

What exam days felt like

One word: exhausting.

There were seven papers over two Saturdays, five in the first week and two in the second. The schedule differed between Class A and Class B; Class B candidates finished after the first Saturday.

Durations varied. Apart from the longer lunch break, other breaks were only ten minutes, so one paper followed immediately after another. After the third paper on the first week, I felt so tired of life that I swore I had to pass on the first attempt.

What You Can Bring

Because there were calculation questions, I said that calculators could be brought and linked the national-exam calculator lookup that I used as a reference at the time. Rules may change, so confirm the current cohort’s notice instead of relying on that historical link.

Approved calculator models for national examinations

I used an LB-217CA. When choosing a calculator, I considered whether it was solar-only or also had a battery, so it could work without strong light. But for this exam I was not sitting in total darkness, so I did not think it mattered much. After writing the papers, I even felt a calculator might not have been essential: the calculations were simple enough to do by hand.

In my indoor-air-quality and Class A experiences, candidate IDs were issued only at the examination. During the course, the organizer kept them so people would not lose them.

How Difficult Was It?

That is subjective, but if you really read the books, I felt passing was fairly achievable. The calculation questions that worried many people were very simple compared with the examples teachers used when explaining air-pollution-fee reporting; they felt like free points.

Our test only estimated emissions and did not even test air-pollution fees. Fill-in questions pulled sentences from the textbook and blanked out key words. Sometimes you might hesitate over the exact word, but teachers often said what could be tested, so they were also relatively manageable. With careful study and review, I thought a first-attempt pass was quite likely.

Exam Technique

There are many questions, but many are of the “you either know it or you do not” type. That creates the odd situation of long exam time but short breaks.

I usually handed in each paper as soon as I could, giving myself more than thirty minutes before the next subject. With organized notes, it was completely possible to review all the next subject’s material again. So if you truly do not know an answer, I recommend not forcing it: hand in quickly and prepare for the next paper.

Conclusion and My Notes

Of all the exams I have taken since childhood, this was the first where I sat so many papers in one day with such short breaks. It was genuinely torturous Orz.

But in terms of the class content—its practical application to air pollution and the solidity of the knowledge—the Class A training course was extremely rewarding. By the end, you gained practical knowledge covering air-pollution regulations, control technology, monitoring and measurement, and much more. It was absolutely worth the fee.

My final scores were not as good as I had hoped, mainly because I misjudged how much study time I would have in the one or two weeks before the test. The week before, work was busy beyond the end of the world, and I could not run through the books and notes a few more times. That was the pity.

I also wish the textbooks had electronic versions XD. That would mean less hauling books around and less printing—please do not cut down so many trees QQ.

Special thanks again to Ms. Li at ITRI, who kept every administrative matter in excellent order and made everything run smoothly.

Finally, here are the notes I organized for all subjects after the course and study period (not visual smoke observation…the time simply was not there). They are available for anyone who needs a reference.

Notes for the Class A Air Pollution Control Specialist certificate

And finally, I hope everyone who wants this certificate can pass the exam smoothly!